SAVE THE DATE BIG T'DO 2025 - NOVEMBER 15TH, 2025
SAVE THE DATE BIG T'DO 2025 - NOVEMBER 15TH, 2025
The 2025 grant application window opens on August 1, 2025. Applications will be due by October 15, 2025. Any teacher in the North Gwinnett cluster may apply for a grant. Use the link below to fill out your application today!
Thanks to generous funding, our high school’s Makerspace Lab has transformed into a cutting-edge hub where students engage in hands-on learning, creativity, and innovation. The lab is now equipped with advanced tools such as a high-precision laser cutter, woodworking equipment, and 3D printers, providing students with access to technologies that were once beyond their reach.
Since the space opened, students have had the opportunity to design, build, and create projects that blend art, engineering, and technology. The laser cutter and woodworking tools have enabled them to bring their ideas to life with precision, while the 3D printers have allowed them to create prototypes and models, turning concepts into reality. In addition, students are exploring robotics, coding, and electronics, gaining skills that are critical for the future.
The impact of the grant has been profound. Students are now more engaged in their learning, using these tools to apply classroom knowledge in real-world contexts. For many, this is their first exposure to professional-grade equipment, and it has sparked a passion for STEM and design that extends far beyond the classroom. Through collaboration on projects, students are developing teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills—preparing them for both college and the workforce.
The Makerspace Lab has also fostered a sense of creativity and confidence. Students from diverse backgrounds are working together, exploring new career pathways in engineering, technology, and design, and gaining a deeper understanding of the possibilities available to them. The space is not only a place for technical skill development but also a community where students feel empowered to experiment, fail, learn, and ultimately succeed.
Being a student is hard enough without social media and a pandemic to make it more stressful. In an effort to teach elementary students how to cope with both life and what is occurring in the world today, NGHS students created children's books. The high school students took several books focused on social conscience and worked together to created a children's version. These books highlighted social awareness and how to handle life situations. The books centered on looking different, fitting in, making friends, feelings of being left out , sadness etc.
The NGHS students and teachers found themselves with a wonderfully written and illustrated book but lacked the funding to print copies for the media centers in the elementary schools.
Meanwhile, the NGSF had available funds due to the 2020 pandemic. The board of directors decided to put this money to use. After coming together with the students and teachers, the project came to fruition and the books are in all North Gwinnett Elementary School media centers.
In December 2024, I submitted an order for the four computer tables identified in my grant request. Each table takes up less of a footprint, is on wheels, matches the updated color scheme in the media center, and includes built-in power ports. The order was delivered and installed on March 11, 2025.
Our students noticed the new tables immediately! They have been utilized thus far for students searching for books/printing as well as after school Study Hall.
As the year progresses and we move into next year, we will use these tables for instruction, too. We have not had new computer tables since the school opened in 2009, so we are so appreciative to have modernized tables now!
Hands-on learning, facilitated by a grant-funded sensory garden project, has significantly increased student engagement. Students actively participated in starting seeds indoors using provided kits and are now observing plant growth and responses to sunlight. They will soon transplant their seedlings to outdoor raised beds for continued care and eventual harvesting. In the meantime, the garden offers opportunities to explore a variety of plants through different senses, enhancing their learning experience.
Your donation can make a difference in the lives of students in need. Help us support education and create a better future for our communities.
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